Xiang Lan felt both embarrassed and angry, struggling instinctively, but heard Lin Jin Lou burst into laughter, a sound full of satisfaction. As he strode out of the room, several maids carrying trays were walking through the corridor. Seeing them, they all looked uncertain and couldn’t help whispering among themselves. Xiang Lan’s face burned with embarrassment, so she simply closed her eyes, thinking that not seeing meant not minding.
Xi Que was guarding the east wing’s door and hurried to lift the curtain. When everyone saw Lin Jin Lou carrying Xiang Lan in, they all seemed frozen in place, dumbfounded. Hua Mei forgot to fan herself, Ying Ge spilled half a bowl of tea in shock, and Luan Er, who was tuning her pipa, nearly broke her fingernail.
Lin Jin Lou remained composed as he placed Xiang Lan on the kang bed. Xiang Lan immediately shrank to the inner side, sitting far from Lin Jin Lou against the wall, leaning on a cushion with her left hand, surveying everyone in the room without speaking. Among them, only Luan Er hadn’t seen Xiang Lan before. Looking carefully, she saw that this girl had the grace of a crabapple blossom and the ethereal beauty of an orchid, truly an exceptional beauty who not only surpassed anyone she had seen but also made them all look lackluster in comparison. Luan Er felt bitter, but noticing the slight swelling on Xiang Lan’s face indicating she had been beaten, and remembering how Lin Jin Lou had angrily gone to her room last night, she straightened her back, though still feeling unsettled. Hua Mei waved her fan, looking thoughtful. Ying Ge glanced at Xiang Lan, then cast a sidelong look at Hua Mei before lowering her head again.
Lin Jin Lou raised his eyebrows and commanded, “Bring the kang table, with just these few people, why use a big table?”
Hua Mei smiled and said, “That’s right, a small table makes for a livelier meal.”
Immediately, servants set up two black wood tables with gold inlay on the kang, joining them together. Lin Jin Lou sat cross-legged on the kang, with Hua Mei on his left and Luan Er on his right. Ying Ge sat in a chair across from Lin Jin Lou to keep him company. This arrangement brought Lin Jin Lou closer to Xiang Lan.
The maids arranged all the dishes on the table. Xiang Lan glanced at the table and saw various plates, all made of Ding kiln celadon glaze, some square, some round, some in the shape of crabapple blossoms, plum blossoms, silver ingots, or gourds, all the size of tea saucers, filled with various delicacies.
Luan Er personally poured wine for Lin Jin Lou while Hua Mei picked several appetizing small dishes and tender meat strips, wrapped them in tofu skin, and placed them in a small cloud-patterned porcelain dish. She held it to Lin Jin Lou’s mouth, smiling, “Master’s favorite, please try it first.”
Unexpectedly, Lin Jin Lou didn’t even look at it, only drinking the cup of wine Luan Er had poured him. Hua Mei felt awkward but quickly smiled again, switching to a duck roll, still placing it in the cloud-patterned porcelain dish, leaning closer and saying, “Master, try this instead. I personally shredded the duck meat and marinated it in a jar, the flavor has fully penetrated, and it’s very delicious.”
At this point, Luan Er also picked up a piece of fried bone and offered it. Lin Jin Lou ate the meat from Luan Er’s chopsticks, again leaving Hua Mei hanging. Xiang Lan shrunk in the corner, saw everything clearly, and thought to herself: “Hua Mei has always been extremely clever, previously the most favored among the concubines in the back quarters. Now Lin Jin Lou has publicly snubbed her twice – she must have done something to anger this master?” Hua Mei awkwardly put down her dish, becoming alert internally, carefully reviewing everything that had happened earlier, remembering Lin Jin Lou’s warning in the room which she had pretended not to understand. She realized he must be displeased and deliberately treating her coldly.
Seeing Lin Jin Lou snub Hua Mei but accept her offerings twice, Luan Er’s face lit up with joy. She became increasingly animated, bustling about, “Sister Hua Mei, bring that dish of ‘phoenix marrow,’ it’s Master’s favorite and won’t taste good if it gets cold.” Then she called out, “Sister Ying Ge, please pour me some fruit wine, this aged wine is too strong – I might have to leave the table if I drink any more.” She then went to order Hua Mei’s maid, “Xi Que, bring me some hot water, I’ll clean my hands to peel river shrimp for Master.”
Xi Que held back her anger. Luan Er’s maid Cun Xin was standing by, and Luan Er eagerly ordering her around was meant to humiliate Hua Mei. She looked at Hua Mei, who gave her a slight nod, so she had no choice but to bring hot water in a silver basin and fetch a towel to help Luan Er clean her hands.
Lin Jin Lou seemed not to notice, using silver chopsticks to methodically sample each dish.
Luan Er grew even more pleased with herself, turning her head to look down at Xiang Lan, calling out, “Xiang Lan, give me one of those back cushions, this wall is too cold, sitting against it for too long will make one sick!”
This performance made Xiang Lan want to both cry and laugh. If she weren’t so preoccupied with her troubles, she might have laughed out loud, thinking to herself: “This drama of concubines competing for favor is extremely sad, boring, and pitiful, but with someone like Luan Er involved, it becomes oddly entertaining.” She handed her cushion to Luan Er.
Luan Er hummed a tune as she took it, but instead of using it as a back support, she placed it under her legs. Lin Jin Lou glanced at Luan Er, and Hua Mei quickly said, “Quick, bring the new green silk ink-patterned back cushions I made yesterday for Miss Xiang Lan.” Xi Que indeed brought two brand new cushions, and Hua Mei even offered to give up her seat to Xiang Lan, but Xiang Lan kept her mouth tightly shut and looked elsewhere.
Luan Er muttered under her breath, “Look at those airs, pretending to be some pure and noble young lady.” Though her voice was low, everyone could hear it. She leaned closer to Lin Jin Lou, holding up her hand, “Master, I didn’t like the jade bracelet you gave me last time and broke it. You said you’d give me a pair of gold-threaded agate ones, but I haven’t seen them yet. Let me tell you upfront if they’re too cheap, I won’t have the face to wear them – they should be worth at least one hundred taels of silver.” She turned her face sideways, looking at Xiang Lan with challenging eyes.
Xiang Lan was startled, then found it amusing, thinking to herself: “Even if Lin Jin Lou gives you the entire Lin family fortune, what does it have to do with me? Do you think I’m like all the women in this room, treating that living bandit like some precious treasure?” She moved her gaze away, staring absently at the ribbons on her dress.
The smile on Hua Mei’s face became uncomfortable as she said sarcastically, “My heavens, one hundred taels for a pair of bracelets – perhaps only the Madam and Young Miss are worthy of such things? A few days ago, I made several sets of clothes for Master, and when he was pleased, he only allowed fifty taels from the accounts for me to make three gold hairpins. Now compared to my sister’s casual request for one hundred taels, I have become worthless.”
Luan Er sneered, “This is what our Master is willing to give me. If you have the ability, go ask Master yourself.”
Just as an argument seemed about to break out, Lin Jin Lou’s wine cup made a “thunk” as he set it on the table. Everyone immediately fell silent, no one daring to make a sound. Lin Jin Lou looked at Luan Er and said, “Go pick a song to sing.”
Luan Er had Cun Xin bring her pipa, first plucking it a few times to tune it before she began to play and sing: “Fragrant grass holds drops of dew, the azure sky hides the icy wheel, gazing far at the river and sky…” She had barely sung one line when Hua Mei covered her mouth and laughed, “Oh my, sister is singing ‘Mandarin Duck Dream’ again. Almost nine times out of ten when we feast, sister sings this, especially when she gets to ‘in this world, women generally suffer one part torment for each part of beauty they possess; for each part of talent they’re blessed with, they gain one part of the karmic obstacle,’ she even gets teary-eyed, as if she sees herself as Liu Yan Bo.”
This “Mandarin Duck Dream” was indeed Luan Er’s favorite opera. It told the story of a maidservant, Liu Yan Bo, who was taken as a concubine by her master Wang Hui Feng because of her exceptional beauty and talent. When Wang Hui Feng was falsely imprisoned and his family scattered, only Liu Yan Bo worked tirelessly on his behalf, enduring countless hardships. Later, she met the Eight Prefecture Inspector, helped clear Wang Hui Feng’s name, and he was restored to his original position. He then married Liu Yan Bo as his wife, and they lived happily ever after. Every time Luan Er played and sang this piece, she would become emotional, feeling that she was like the righteous and brave Liu Yan Bo – talented and beautiful but of humble origins, not knowing when she might finally become the proper first wife. She would often sing this piece for Lin Jin Lou.
Today, Hua Mei mercilessly exposed her little fantasy, and Luan Er became angry with embarrassment. She threw her pipa onto the kang and said, “I’m a simple person who only knows this one piece. Why doesn’t Sister Hua Mei sing something for us to hear?”
Hua Mei didn’t decline and immediately had someone bring her usual guzheng. After playing a few notes, she smiled and asked, “What would Master like to hear? A few days ago, some female performers came to the house and performed a newly arranged ‘Dream Among Flowers.’ There were several clever new tunes in it, and Master said they sounded fresh. Why don’t I pick one to sing?” After thinking for a moment, she played the guzheng and sang: “What a lovely beauty powdering her temples, what a clever and quick-witted little thing, your thousand charms carried away by the east wind, your myriad schemes given to floating clouds, only regret hanging half a lifetime’s heart, ah, not knowing that since ancient times success and failure have been predetermined.” Her voice was low but sang with lilting charm. After singing, she drank a cup herself, then took the opportunity to pour Lin Jin Lou another cup of wine and offered him the tofu roll, smiling coquettishly, pleading, “The wine is drunk, the song is sung, Master, please give me some face. Earlier was all my fault, I won’t dare do it again next time.”
Lin Jin Lou glanced at Hua Mei and ate the roll. Hua Mei secretly sighed in relief, her face filling with joy.
Luan Er felt somewhat angry and picked up her pipa again, saying, “Speaking of those tunes, they’re all simple little things, what’s so hard about them?” She then sang: “Only seeing the garden full of silks and jewels gleaming bright, how would you know mirror flowers and water moon are false affection. Only hoping for long-lasting love in the embroidered curtains and mandarin duck quilt, yet unable to hide nature’s charming and extravagant disposition. Beyond one layer of curtain lies the edge of the world, my dear, leaving only empty talk and vain reputation.” Her voice was clear and high, singing extremely well, and played the pipa skillfully.
Even Xiang Lan couldn’t help but look sideways. She saw Luan Er leaning against the wall, wearing a bright red silk gauze jacket, tied with a willow-green sweat cloth, below was a three-colored satin embroidered skirt, showing a bit of lake-blue embroidered shoes with glass bead strings. Her hair was styled high in cloud-like buns, adorned with pearl and emerald plum blossom ornaments, wearing phoenix hairpins and gold pins inlaid with jewels and pearls. Her ears bore purple jade gold-mounted earrings the size of kumquats, making her oval face appear even whiter, her small mouth and eyes holding a special charm.
Lin Jin Lou praised her performance. Luan Er’s face immediately lit up, and she turned to look at Xiang Lan with a half-smile, saying, “Why don’t you sing something too?”